Jaume Plensa: '1004 Portraits'

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Jaume Plensa’s ‘Crown Fountain,’ the artist presents four monumental sculptures installed in Millennium Park for this special exhibition.

The sculptures are portraits of young girls created in cast iron and resin; they continue the story of the original 1000 portraits of local Chicago residents that illuminate the Crown Fountain every day.

Jaume Plensa (Spain, 1955) is one of the world’s foremost sculptors working in the public space, with over 30 projects spanning the globe in cities such as Chicago, Dubai, London, Liverpool, Nice, Tokyo, Toronto and Vancouver.

Over the past 25 years, the artist has produced a rich body of work in the studio and the public realm. By combining conventional sculptural materials (glass, steel, bronze, aluminum) with more unconventional media (water, light, sound, video), and frequently incorporating text, Plensa creates hybrid works of intricate energy and psychology.

The Crown Fountain, 2004, in Chicago’s Millennium Park, is one of his biggest project, and undoubtedly one of his most brilliant.

In 2005: Breathing, installed in the new BBC building in London.

In 2007: Conversation à Nice for the place Masséna in Nice, France.

In 2008: El Alma del Ebro for the Expo Zaragoza, in Zaragoza, Spain.

In 2009: Dream for St Helens, Liverpool, UK; and World Voices in Dubai, UAE.

In 2010: Ogijima’s Soul in Ogijima, Japan; and Awilda in Salzburg, Austria.

In 2011: Tolerance, for the city of Houston; and Echo for Madison Square Park in New York.

In 2012: Mirror, for the University of Houston; and Olhar nos meus Sonhos in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.